5 proven ways to speed up your hiring process

By Dave Nerz, CEO NPAworldwide

Great candidates are difficult to locate these days. Top talent is receiving multiple offers from employers. Job seekers are in the drivers seat when it comes to salary, work location, vacation and benefits. Fulfilling on the hiring process is tough work. Do yourself a favor and make it a bit easier with these proven methods to improve hiring.

Define the Position Well

OK, position description (PD) creation sounds as exciting as watching paint dry. Done well, it will make your hiring process go more smoothly. For example, how many times have we written in a PD, “Bachelors Degree Required?” Now is the time to challenge this, not when the candidate has been interviewed and we see that an experienced candidate is a few credits short or has adequate work experience but not the right degree.

Do everyone a favor and do not use the position description as the job board advertisement. Someone needs to sift through the PD and add some spice to the description to make it a more attractive document to improve the hiring process. What are the best things about this job? Does everyone leave because it sucks or because they get promoted? Is it boring or filled with challenge and excitement? Can you do it from anywhere or is it done inside a 6×6 cube?

Plan this out and spend all the time to get all hiring process decision-makers on the same page from day one. Time is lost negotiating and debating this stuff while candidates wait. Do it well and do it in advance.

Set a Targeted Schedule

If you set a target for, say a 60-day hiring process, make note of how long candidates will be in the selection process. How long are great candidates likely to wait for a decision? If it seems too long to you now, it will definitely seems to long for your best candidates. The bad ones will wait, the good ones will be gone. Compact the time you keep the search for resumes open, the days you will interview and the time from conclusion of interview to offers. Speed is good…time will kill all deals.

Gain Commitment

If you are going to hold to a tight schedule, make sure the players are aligned. This is a function, not a relay race! Anyone delaying the team effort must be removed and replaced or just removed. Someone will always be sick, out of town unexpectedly or on vacation. Move on and leave the player out of the mix. Get everyone committed to the schedule.

I know you will hear from someone, “Do we want this done on time or do we want the right person?” While there is certainly some truth in that point of view, there has to be a compelling reason and a singular candidate this is directed to. If it is about the process for all candidates, then the team defined the role poorly or is not properly scheduled or committed. The question might be turned around to “Do we want to lose all the candidates to competitors and other employers because we are the least effective decision makers?”

Create Structure/Plan it Out

Pick a week when interviews will be done. Communicate that as part of the screening process. Candidates will appreciate it and you will benefit from the planning. Automate things if you can. Let the candidate use Calendly or Bookafy to set the interview date and time themselves with the team. Have collections of behavioral interview questions and interview formats preset. Some warming on the way into the interview by the interviewer and some chatting on the way out. The meat of the 60 minute interview is formatted and scored.

Select the Best Talent

You hear it in sports during draft time, “Pick the best player available.” You too need to do this. If you have unlimited time to fill the role and there is no lost opportunity cost associated with a job opening (typical value/cost of an opening is stated at about $350,000 per year per employee) then sure, toss the bunch you have sourced, filtered, interviewed, assessed and start all over again. Sounds like lost time and money to me.

Consider this: when I need a scratch on a wall fixed, I get the paint out and touch it up. When a faucet is dripping I get out a wrench and tighten up the connection. If I need a new wall or have pipes to be rerouted, I call a professional. If you are not capable of doing the work listed above, consider it time to call in the professionals. Independent recruiters can work with you on many different pricing models. Find a professional to get the big jobs done right!